Tag: holiday

Have a holly, jolly Christmas
And in case you didn’t hear
Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas
This year

(Lyrics from “A Holly Jolly Christmas” written by Johnny Marks in 1962)

Is the sugar-spun notion of a “holly jolly” Christmas unrealistic?

Before his redemption, Ebenezer Scrooge thought so: “If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart!”

An Indie author who aspires to the assertion, “art imitates life”—I’m inclined to agree.

Although Christmas is an integral part of my Contemporary, An Enlightening Quiche, realism jingles all the way from the perspective of my protagonist, Augusta Bergeron:

A vision of myself as a ghoul from Christmases Yet to Come appeared in the guise of a long-in-the-tooth trollop flicking fried-dyed hair and wearing age-inappropriate, skintight attire tautly stretched over my butt of a joke. A comparable image satirized every night by Cohen at closing time inside the chamber of Chuggers put the fear of God in me.

‘Tis the season to indulge in a reprieve from the doldrums and humdrum. Against my better judgement, I indulge a Hallmark movie from time to time, in willing suspension of disbelief.

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
‘Cause no matter how far away you roam,
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.

*From: “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays”; published: 1954; best-known recordings by Perry Como

The lyrics may hold true for many of us. For some, heading home for the holidays is stressful. Assuming there’s no place like home, where exactly is “home” for the rest of the year?

If home is where the heart is, I feel at home in my native state of Rhode Island which affords me access to the ocean, my favorite place to be. Throughout my childhood and young adulthood, I felt at home in the town of Lincoln. In that regard, I’m glad I preserved details of the past by writing/publishing my nonfiction memoir collection, 100 Wild Mushrooms: Memoirs of the ‘60s (2017).

I never felt at home in South Kingstown where I resided for 15 years because most of that stretch was spent out of town during my teaching career. These days, while my abode is homey, I can’t say I feel at home in the town of East Providence either, a stranger among many who keep to ourselves in an apartment complex.

I’ve come to believe that “home sweet home” is not tied to any particular place. It’s a headspace where we bask in the sunshine as we define it. Until we’re comfortable in our own headspace, books provide an outlet for us to lose and find ourselves while homeward bound.

I’d be remiss this time of year if I didn’t allude to my all-time favorite holiday story—Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol (1843). Taking center stage for this blog, is Fezziwig—a merchant of jolly and jovial temperament under whom young Ebenezer Scrooge apprenticed. Renowned for his merrymaking during the Christmas season, this astute businessman shows he is deeply interested in the welfare and happiness of his employees. No doubt, the admiration and respect they have for their boss, motivates them to work even harder.

At least until the New Year, I’m in Fezziwig mode, resting on my laurels, under the dubious assumption I’ll work harder when January rolls around:

October 9th: I launched a nonfiction memoir collection, 100 Wild Mushrooms: Memoirs of the ‘60s.

While my merrymaking isn’t about taking a leap into the air with a quick switch in position of the legs, I’m navigating life at my own pace despite those rude awakenings that wreak havoc with your psyche. Having abstained from drafting my next Contemporary, I’m reading what other Indies have written. I’m also indulging in a Hallmark holiday movie every now and then, caught up in the contrived schmaltz.

Observing the scene of Fezziwig’s merriment signals the beginning of Scrooge’s emotional transformation to becoming a better man. Likewise, Fezziwig mode has enabled me to assess and prioritize what is really important in my life at this juncture.

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